December 3, 2013

Review: Third Lie's the Charm

Third Lie's the Charm Third book of The Liar Society
By Lisa and Laura Roecker
Available now from Sourcebooks Fire
Review copy
Read my review of The Lies That Bind

Lisa and Laura Roecker bring their series The Liar Society to a close with a book that racks up the body count while delivering humor, romance, and mystery.  Be warned: minor spoilers for the first two books follow.

Kate Lowry has destroyed the Brotherhood, and she's feeling good about that, even if it didn't turn out exactly how she planned.  Now she just has to destroy the Sisterhood and her revenge for her best friend Grace's death will be complete.  Then she ignores a call in the pursuit of her goals, and another classmate ends up dead.  Kate has a new case to investigate in addition to her continued plans of sabotage.

I love Kate, who has a very masculine character arc.  She's willing to give up love in order to pursue vengeance.  And, well, if multiple guys are going to pursue her, she is going to worry about it when there aren't dead bodies on the ground and she's going to mock any and all displays of testosterone.  Kate is in way over her head, but she's been that way from the start and refuses to give up now.

I've just had so much fun with this series.  It is completely over-the-top with the almost all powerful secret societies, but that's part of what makes it so fun.  That craziness is anchored by the great heroine and her complicated relationships with friends, boys, and other classmates.

THIRD LIE'S THE CHARM did have some structural issues.  Things fall into place way too simply at the end of the novel because this is the end of the series and things have to wrap up.  There's a detour to a bizarrely short camp that is funny, but in the end could have been more relevant.  The plotting just isn't as neat, which is a shame since that's been a strength of this series.

But the characters and their interactions are as wonderful as ever, which makes the book worth it.  THIRD LIE'S THE CHARM and its two predecessors are excellent choices for young adult mystery fans.

4 comments:

  1. I skimmed because I haven't read any of these, but I do want too! I like a fun mystery.

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    Replies
    1. Hee, I skim reviews all the time when I haven't read the previous books.

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  2. I had a great time with the over-the-top, almost all powerful secret societies, and loved *peaking over Kate's shoulder during her initiation rites into the sisterhood. But, I had a hard time connecting with Kate because she kept everyone at such a distance. I still loved her spark and sassyness though. Wonderful review:)

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    Replies
    1. I kind of liked her distance. I felt like it was part of what made her interesting, that encompassing grief consuming her and driving her actions.

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